It's about time. This summer, NEC introduced the first PC specifically designed to be ecologically friendly. The NEC PowerMate eco is a machine that's low on power consumption and won't harm the environment when it's disposed of.

The eco's built-in 15-inch flat-panel display contains no boron. Its motherboard uses lead-free solder. And its chassis is made from NuCycle, a plastic developed and patented by NEC that's 100 percent recyclable. Made of a special flame-retardant silicone compound, this plastic (unlike the plastic in most PCs) can even withstand flames without releasing harmful gases. "There are millions of computers and displays that need to be recycled annually, and few of them are designed according to good environmental policy," says Joe Harris, director of product marketing for NEC.

The eco is not only environmentally friendly, it's also office-friendly. Because its computing guts are built into the back of the flat-panel display, the system takes up barely more space than a standalone display. Its footprint is just 11.5 by 8.9 inches. The eco is equipped with the Transmeta Crusoe processor, which is not the fastest chip on the block, but it uses about one-third of the power of most desktop processors, so the system generates little heat.

Since it doesn't need a fanthe component that accounts for most PC noiseand uses an exceptionally quiet Fluid Dynamic Bearing hard drive, the eco never produces more than 20 decibels, equivalent to a barely audible whisper. We applaud NEC for being the first computer maker to come forward with a machine that specifically addresses the environmental impact of personal computers. (NEC Solutions America, www.neccomp.com, Click here to read our review of the NEC PowerMate eco as part of our Innovative by Design roundup.)